Wednesday, January 2, 2008

The Shack

Happy 2008!

Wow, I’m old. Aren’t we all? I remember thinking that 2010 had to be on the very edge of eternity (or infinity or some other impossibly far-fetched and far-off age). And now that distant future is only two years away. Yikes. Next thing you know we’ll be wearing spandex head-to-toe and transporting ourselves around by disassembling our atoms and shooting them across space. Oh, I hope not. I rather like my body in one piece.

Anyway, to start off the New Year in blogland, I’ve decided to write a book review. I wanted to do something stellar, something cool and stylish and very 2008ish. So I'm writing a book review. Does that qualify as cool? I hope so, because I’m crazy about this book and excited to do what I can to promote it.

The book in question is The Shack, by William P. Young. Have you heard of it? I hadn’t up until my sister-in-law introduced me to the book when we were in Canada. But apparently it’s BIG NEWS because last time I checked it was #113 in sales on Amazon. Is everybody and their dog reading it? They should be. At any rate, I apologize if you’re already in the know and my little review is old news. If not, you better hop on the bandwagon (or is it off?) because you gotta read this book.

The Shack is a slim little novel about one man’s face-to-face encounter with the trinity. When Mack’s six-year-old daughter is kidnapped, and evidence is found that she has been brutally murdered, Mack’s faith in God begins to deteriorate. He finds himself entrenched in what he calls The Great Sadness, a deep and bottomless pit of sorrow that threatens to consume him. Then one day, Mack receives a letter from God; an invitation, really, asking him to return to the very shack where all of Mack’s worst nightmares seemingly came true. What he encounters there will change everything… I wish I could tell you more, but believe me: you don’t want me to.

I can’t tell you how this book impacted me. It read like a novel, but in many ways it felt more like a theological treatise. I learned so much about the nature of God, the person of the Holy Spirit, and the mystery of Jesus that I am still processing certain scenes and conversations. In some ways it was shocking and unexpected; in other ways it was almost blissfully familiar and reassuring. The writing wasn’t always spectacular, but it didn’t need to be--it reminded me of a letter from a dear friend, quirks and all.

I’d love to say much, much more (or, better yet, to chat all about it with you over a cup of coffee), but rather than muddy the waters, I’m going to leave the ball in your court. I highly recommend that you go out and buy The Shack. It'll challenge you, I promise. (I'll give you one little clue: God is NOT a white-haired, elderly, Gandalf-type grandfather figure.) But that's okay. I happen to like being challenged. And hey, if and when you do buy it, and when you’re done reading, email me. I’d love to talk all about it…